[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Nope... just an amateur who likes to play around with equipment .

Yeah. Its not like every cedia is taken to a rally - its just driven rally style.

Right?


Congrats!!!

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by Fountainheader

You never know when the so-called 'waste' can be put to great use

To me, it's like buying a truck since there's no bigger SUV available to upgrade. Of course it can be put to use, but the 'use' is different than that of an SUV.

[d_payne]

@roc: Congrats man! That body is a beauty and it can handle pretty much everything thrown at it.

What I'd like to see now are some photographs! Are you on flickr or any site? As much as I drool about equipment, I love to see the results as well. And as much as I wanna upgrade my good ole Sony Alpha A300, I'm resisting the temptation simply 'cuz I want to take more photos and buy less equipment!

Please to put up some shots, anytime. I love the 17-40L lens and believe it'll be the #1 lens on my list if I ever move to FF. Ever.

Cheers!
Payne

[mohang_j]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

Woah thats wierd? Whats the cheapest dslr option available now? Can I buy a 350D (loved that one too) Only Canon or Nikon please.

Cheapest will be Canon 1000d 26K+/- or Nikon D60 34K+/- with bill.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by mohang_j

Cheapest will be Canon 1000d 26K+/- or Nikon D60 34K+/- with bill.

I dont mind grey market or discontinued models. They just have to be new.

[given2fly]

I don't remember your requirements, but what is your budget. Once you tell us the budget, we can probably get you the best deal with a good start-up lens. Don't ever go for the kit lens deal. I regretted that when I got my 400D. Just get the body and some good lens within your budget to start with.

Originally Posted by quickdraw

I dont mind grey market or discontinued models. They just have to be new.

[jaysmokesleaves]

Originally Posted by given2fly

I don't remember your requirements, but what is your budget. Once you tell us the budget, we can probably get you the best deal with a good start-up lens. Don't ever go for the kit lens deal. I regretted that when I got my 400D. Just get the body and some good lens within your budget to start with.

Whats wrong with going in for a kit lens deal ??
Im planning to shortly buy the Canon EOS 500D with the 18-55mm kit lens.
JJMEHTA quotes approx 48k for the kit with 2 years Canon warranty. Is there a better option available..?

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by given2fly

I don't remember your requirements, but what is your budget. Once you tell us the budget, we can probably get you the best deal with a good start-up lens. Don't ever go for the kit lens deal. I regretted that when I got my 400D. Just get the body and some good lens within your budget to start with.

I'm just looking for a good deal here. Dont worry about the lens et all. I used to have a 40D w 70-200 F4L, 28-135, 50 1.8, 75-300, 18-55 and 100mm I just am looking for a dirt cheap deal for a SLR that I can just keep in the Car or in my Bag at all times. Has to be a Canon or Nikon has to be new.

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

Whats wrong with going in for a kit lens deal ??
Im planning to shortly buy the Canon EOS 500D with the 18-55mm kit lens.
JJMEHTA quotes approx 48k for the kit with 2 years Canon warranty. Is there a better option available..?

I think he means it not from the price aspect from a lens use prespective, 18-55 might seem wrong from someone who bought his SLR for some telephoto stuff and just didnt know so ended up not using the 18-55 at all.

[furioussphinx]

I have a Canon 400D with a 18-55mm (non IS) kit lens. My style of photography is street, and potrait. Not at all into landscapes and wildlife.

I want to help regarding the following,

1. A good tele lens, budget max of ~13k for it.
2. Prime lens, 50mm
3. UV filters (Mainly for lens protection) and lens hood
4. Memory Card (I have a 2GB CF now)
5. Should I exchange my kit lens and buy a 18-55 IS lens? Is it worth the money and advisable to do so?

Please suggest the best options for all these and most probably ill be buying them in grey.

[navin]

Originally Posted by furioussphinx

I have a Canon 400D with a 18-55mm (non IS) kit lens.
1. A good tele lens, budget max of ~13k for it.
2. Prime lens, 50mm
3. UV filters (Mainly for lens protection) and lens hood
5. Should I exchange my kit lens and buy a 18-55 IS lens?

1. canon 55-250 IS
2. 50/1.8 - rememebr that 50mm on a 400D is like 80mm on a regualr SLR
3. UV - Hoya is best VFM and better than Tiffen/Marumi get a polariser when you can afford it.
4. Yes. IS guys you atleast 2 stops (canon says 3-4 but in the real world you get atleast 2).

[clevermax]

Hi friends, romans & Lensmen,

The question is about this lens:


It is a Minolta Maxxum 70-210 F/4 lens.

I bought this old lens from ebay about 6 months back. When I was inspecting the lens recently, I found that some fungus has started growing inside two of the glass surfaces of this lens. Though these won't show up in the pictures taken, I suspect they are eventually going to affect the optical output of the lens.

I have detailed step-by-step instructions with actual photographs to dismantle the lens which will help me clean the internal elements, but not all of the surfaces can be reached even if I open it up, I can just hope that I'll be able to reach to the fungi. This lens has 12 optical components inside.

The question is, How exactly can I clean the inner glass elements' surfaces? What all precautions should be taken? Has anyone here ever tried opening up a lens for this purpose? I often clean two of the outer lens surfaces with a blower, and with the lint free tissue paper supplied with the cleaning kit. I don't think this is enough, or it is the right way to clean the inner parts.

Is there any way to prevent further fungi growth inside the lens, once the current fungus growth is removed? I started the habit of putting a silica gel pack inside my lens bag after I noticed the fungus. Hope that will keep the humidity levels low which will make the fungus growth difficult.

[janitha]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Hi friends, romans & Lensmen,

The question is about this lens:
Attachment 186167

It is a Minolta Maxxum 70-210 F/4 lens.

I bought this old lens from ebay about 6 months back. When I was inspecting the lens recently, I found that some fungus has started growing inside two of the glass surfaces of this lens. Though these won't show up in the pictures taken, I suspect they are eventually going to affect the optical output of the lens.

I have detailed step-by-step instructions with actual photographs to dismantle the lens which will help me clean the internal elements, but not all of the surfaces can be reached even if I open it up, I can just hope that I'll be able to reach to the fungi. This lens has 12 optical components inside.

The question is, How exactly can I clean the inner glass elements' surfaces? What all precautions should be taken? Has anyone here ever tried opening up a lens for this purpose? I often clean two of the outer lens surfaces with a blower, and with the lint free tissue paper supplied with the cleaning kit. I don't think this is enough, or it is the right way to clean the inner parts.

Is there any way to prevent further fungi growth inside the lens, once the current fungus growth is removed? I started the habit of putting a silica gel pack inside my lens bag after I noticed the fungus. Hope that will keep the humidity levels low which will make the fungus growth difficult.

Never ever try to dissassemble a lens and clean it. Not because you cant do it but since the exact alignment will not be retained once you reassemble it. Years back I used to get it done at Bangalore. Now I think you can get it done at Kollam itself. There is a camera repair shop behind Bishop Jerome which is a branch of the main shop at Kottayam. Try to get it done by the owner himself though he may not be present everyday.

To prevent growth/spreading of fungus, keep it in a transparent air tight container with some sachets of silica gel inside and if possible with lens caps removed and the lens elements facing some light. Take care that silica gel do not touch the lens surface. Earlier, containers with a vaccuum pump too were available.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by janitha

Never ever try to dissassemble a lens and clean it. Not because you cant do it but since the exact alignment will not be retained once you reassemble it. Years back I used to get it done at Bangalore. Now I think you can get it done at Kollam itself. There is a camera repair shop behind Bishop Jerome which is a branch of the main shop at Kottayam. Try to get it done by the owner himself though he may not be present everyday.

To prevent growth/spreading of fungus, keep it in a transparent air tight container with some sachets of silica gel inside and if possible with lens caps removed and the lens elements facing some light. Take care that silica gel do not touch the lens surface. Earlier, containers with a vaccuum pump too were available.

Thanks a lot janitha for the information. I never thought there are such lens repair shops right here in Kollam! I'll surely pay this guy a visit sometime next week.

But I really wanted to do this myself because of the fun involved in doing it... It's an old lens anyway. I could buy a new one in the worst case scenario where I assemble the lens back again with some parts missing inside

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Thanks a lot janitha for the information. I never thought there are such lens repair shops right here in Kollam! I'll surely pay this guy a visit sometime next week.

But I really wanted to do this myself because of the fun involved in doing it... It's an old lens anyway. I could buy a new one in the worst case scenario where I assemble the lens back again with some parts missing inside

I think its the same team who have shop at TRV and Kottayam.

[furioussphinx]

Originally Posted by navin

1. canon 55-250 IS
2. 50/1.8 - rememebr that 50mm on a 400D is like 80mm on a regualr SLR
3. UV - Hoya is best VFM and better than Tiffen/Marumi get a polariser when you can afford it.
4. Yes. IS guys you atleast 2 stops (canon says 3-4 but in the real world you get atleast 2).

If I had Canon 55-250 IS and Sigma 70-300mm APO DG Macro, which is better?